Finding the Sweet Spot Within Failure

Failure can be a scar you hide or a lesson learned- the choice is yours.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that change is constant. Life is a state of perpetual transition. Some periods of change are more difficult than others, and all growth comes with discomfort. That’s what growth does. It boots you right out of your comfort zone to a very foreign place. You feel like a fish out of water, a sitting duck, a deer in headlights…alright enough with the animal analogies.

My point is, change and growth are fucking scary, so how in the hell do we navigate through them for success?

I’ll tell you what I know. It’s really simple.

You ready?

Fail.

Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense.

It actually makes perfect sense.

Let me explain.

Did you know that people who are largely successful in life fail on average between seven to ten times before they reach the top of their mountain?

That’s right, they experience seven to ten failures before they achieve success.

One of the best learning tools to discover what we want is to experience the things we don’t want. We can learn what we like and what works well for us after we’ve gone through situations that didn’t work well for us.

Failure is data. Failure is getting booted out of your comfort zone, but then having a direction to go in after it happens. You might feel paralyzed like that deer, or it might seem you’re desperately flopping around like that fish trying to save its own life, but I promise you the floundering is temporary.

You’ll reach that dead end, and you’ll experience all of those not so nice feelings that go along with failure. You may feel shame, self-doubt, fear, disappointment, and truly the list of uncomfortable feelings could go on and on, but they will pass. They may linger, or creep in, or even take back over at times, but you will gather yourself, find your grit and be the awesome human you are. You will turn your back on your dead end, and walk away toward a different direction. You’ll continue on, and you’ll return back to your comfort zone, oh how sweet that is. And that’s alright. It’s safe there, and feeling safe is good for the soul. Nourish yourself while you’re there. Allow yourself to process the journey to your dead end. Acknowledge those not so nice feelings, let them dissolve, and then buck up and make your next move.

Don’t stay in your comfort zone for too long, because damn it, this world needs you and all you have to offer!

See, the beautiful thing about change is the more it happens (failure included) the more we adapt, and the better we become at handling change. That’s when the magic happens. Resilience, and grit, and optimism, and love will prevail in this place. Growth will boot you out of your comfort zone, as it likes to do. This time through you’ll stand up, ruffle your feathers, and continue on your journey.

So my friends, fail, rest, and repeat.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

See ya in the arena — trying, failing, responding, and repeating; my way to personal success.

Thinking of becoming a coach yourself? Check out JRNI’s coaching program here.